Sox Ride Homer Parade For Second Straight Shutout (4/19/00)

Pete Schourek was last night's hero for shutting out the Detroit Tigers. This time it was Brian Rose that pitched great as the Boston Red Sox won a 10-0 laughter in Tigers Stadium.

                                           The Boys celebrate the victory

Tigers starter Hideo Nomo got off to a good start in the top of the first inning. Jose Offerman grounded out and Trot Nixon struck out. Brian Daubach worked a walk but Nomar Garciaparra grounded out to end the inning. Brian Rose (1-2) took the hill in the bottom of the frame. Gregg Jefferies grounded out and Brad Ausmus popped up.  Juan Encarnarcion bunted down the third base side for a hit and Juan Gonzalez walked. Bobby Higginson hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.

Troy O'Leary looked at strike 3 to begin the top of the second inning. Carl Everett popped up but Mike Stanley singled. Jason Varitek walked but Manny Alexander flied out to end the inning. Rose struck out Dean Palmer to start the bottom of the second inning. Wendell MaGee grounded out but Tony Clark worked a walk. Deivi Cruz flied out to end the inning.

The Sox struck in the top of the third when Jose Offerman blasted a home run off Nomo to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. Nixon singled and stole second. Daubach walked for a second time but Nomar flied out. O'Leary whiffed but a wild pitch moved Nixon to third. Everett struck out to end the threat. Jefferies singled to lead off the bottom of the third. Ausmus flied out and Encarnarcion grounded out. Gonzalez lined out to end the inning.

Stanley flied out to begin the top of the fourth. Varitek worked a walk but Alexander and Offerman flied out to end the inning. Rose remained hot in the bottom of the fourth. Higginson struck out, Palmer grounded out and MaGee popped up to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth inning. Nixon walked but Daubach flied out. Nixon was erased on the force by Nomar and O'Leary swatted a 2 run home run to increase the lead 3-0. Everett lined out to end the inning. Rose protected the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Clark struck out but Cruz singled. Jefferies struck out and Ausmus grounded out to end the inning.

The Sox put the game out of reach in the top of the sixth inning. Stanley led off with a solo blast to make it 4-0 and chase Nomo.  Matt Anderson came on in relief and walked Varitek. Alexander singled and Offerman walked to load the bases. Tigers manager Phil Garner brought in Jim Poole to pitch to Nixon. The gamble failed with Nixon belted a grand slam to give the Sox a commanding 8-0 lead. Daubach flied out but Nomar got in on the homer parade by blasting one of his own. O'Leary grounded out but Everett singled. Willie Blair replaced the ineffective Poole and Stanley singled. Varitek flied out to end the inning but it was now 9-0. Rose returned for the bottom of the 6th and got Encarnarcion to ground out. Gonzalez popped up but Higginson walked. Palmer grounded out to end the inning. After two straight stinkers, Rose finally pitched well to earn a win.

The Tigers emptied their bench in the top of the 7th. Shane Halter replaced Palmer at third,  MaGee moved to right as Kareem Garcia replaced Encarnarcion. Mark Johnson took over on the mound.  Alexander led off with a double and Offerman moved him to third with a groundout. Nixon singled home Manny for his 5th rbi of the day and wrap up the scoring to make it 10-0. Daubach worked his third walk of the game but Nomar, then O'Leary grounded out to end the inning. Rich Garces replaced Rose in the bottom of the 7th. MaGee grounded out but Clark singled.  Cruz flied out and so did Jefferies to end the inning.

Robert Fick took over for Ausmus behind the plate in the top of the 8th. Everett struck out but Stanley doubled. Varitek lined out short and Alexander popped up to end the inning. The much maligned Rob Stanfier came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Jeff Frye replaced Offerman at second and Andy Sheets replaced Nomar at short. Fick and Garcia grounded out but Gonzalez singled and Higginson doubled. Halter grounded out to end the inning.

Johnson returned for the top of the ninth. Frye grounded out but Nixon singled. Daubach singled and Sheets moved them both over with a ground out. O'Leary flied out to end the inning. John Wasdin was brought in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. MaGee and Clark flied out then Cruz grounded out to end the game. The Sox had won 10-0.

Hero of the Night is a no-brainer. Brian Rose pitched 6 solid innings of shut out ball, giving the bullpen a rest and improving his record to 1-2.

                                        Hero of the Night: Brian Rose

The Good:

Trot Nixon was 4 for 5 with 5 total rbi's, a grand slam and a walk. Brian Daubach was 1 for 3 with  3 walks. Mike Stanley was 4 for 5 including a home run and run scored. Manny Alexander was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored. Rich Garces pitched a scoreless 7th inning. Rob Stanifer pitched a scoreless 8th inning. John Wasdin pitched a scoreless 9th inning.


The Bad:

Jeff Frye was 0 for 1 at the plate. Andy Sheets was 0 for 1 at the plate.


The Ugly:

Jose Offerman was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run, plus he walked and scored 2 total runs. Nomar Garciaparra was just 1 for 5 with a walk and 2 runs scored but the one hit was a home run. Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 6 with 2 total rbis and a run scored but the one hit was a home run. Jason Varitek was 0 for 2 but walked 3 times and scored a run.